China's COVID-19 Dilemma Is Far from Over Despite President Xi Jinping' Loosening of Policy

Chinese officials have taken their most serious action yet to end the punitive policy following unprecedented mass protests against zero-Covid policy.

In addition to limiting lockdowns, reducing the number of times COVID-19 test results would be checked, and enabling those with mild cases of COVID-19 to isolate at home, officials announced the end of mandatory centralized quarantine on Wednesday. It happened when other cities started to loosen their own regulations.

China Loosens Zero-Covid Policy

China must avoid a number of potential hazards as it steers away of zero-Covid. The key difficulty is preventing mass fatalities from resulting from the expected increase in infections. Given the low level of COVID-19 immunity among the elderly and the country's continued reliance on ineffective local vaccinations, this is especially concerning for China.

Even though South Korea and Singapore had populations that had gotten foreign vaccinations from Pfizer, Moderna, and Astrazeneca before they opened up, they were unable to stop an increase in diseases.

According to recent data from the Chinese government, only 69% of people over 60 and 40% of people over 80 had received a booster injection. Given their ongoing mistrust of vaccines, speeding up their vaccinations will continue to be difficult, as per BBC.

Chinese officials outlined plans for temporary and mobile vaccination clinics on Wednesday. They also advised local governments to employ "incentives to mobilize the enthusiasm of the elderly to be vaccinated."

According to reports, they are aiming to increase the immunity of the majority of senior people by the end of January, before Chinese New Year, when a large number of people would travel throughout the nation.

In an abrupt 180-degree turn from its previous policy, which mandated that everyone who tested positive be taken to a government field hospital, a temporary facility created to treat COVID-19 patients, government ministries and hospitals are already changing their messaging online about how to deal with COVID-19 at home if one gets sick.

Per The Independent, a team working with renowned government physician Zhang Wenhong published a thorough explanation of the virus on Thursday, highlighting the fact that the illness is persistent and that the great majority of cases won't necessitate hospitalization.

China's COVID-19 Cases

On December 7, China reported 21,439 new local COVID-19 infections, a modest decrease from the day before and below the peak of 40,052 cases on November 27. Recently, cases have been declining as authorities all throughout the nation relaxed their testing criteria, as per NDTV.

According to Shanghai government-backed news site The Paper, several multimillion dollar projects to construct testing facilities across the nation, from Shandong province in the east to Sichuan in the southwest, have been abandoned as China has reduced the need for testing.

As these very cautious moves toward reopening were perceived as providing the world's second biggest economy an opportunity to regain pace, China and Hong Kong equities supported Asian equity markets on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Chinese yuan, which has recently gained some ground versus the dollar, showed minimal movement. Shanghai, the largest city in China, which had been under one of the country's longest and strictest lockdowns, abandoned the requirement for COVID-19 testing on Thursday.

Recent statements have not made any reference to China's zero-COVID policy, leading some to believe that the phrase is no longer relevant as the government progressively steers the nation toward a condition of coexisting with the virus. Additionally, senior officials have lowered their rhetoric on the virus's risks. While implementing the new, more flexible rules, several communities warned citizens to exercise caution.

According to some analysts and medical professionals, China is ill-prepared for a significant increase in illnesses, in part because of its shaky healthcare system and poor vaccination rates among vulnerable, elderly people.